Davina's Magical Radio

My husband is an author and this is his first YA novel. I'm very proud of him and his work.  You can follow his blog at stevendbynum.blogspot.com.  Here are a few things I like about his book.

Davina, DeBrina, and Fabiola are like the Three Muskateers -- one for all and all for one.  The teens are typical girls in most ways -  they like boys, listen to music, work hard in school, play sports, and just hang out with each other.  They live happily with their families in a small, Central California town.  However, they also have a magical radio.

For her 13th birthday, Davina Gonzalez recieves an old-fashioned radio from her detective uncle.  Strangly, the radio begins playing songs even though there is no observable power source.  Even more strange, is that the radio speaks to the girls by name, and seems to hear them talking too.  Using clues from the radio, the girls begin solving crimes in their town, including one that threatens the life of DeBrina!

The radio uses riddles and codes to deliver the clues to the girls, and the writer presents them in such a way that the reader has an equal chance at solving the problems.  Young people seem to naturally like riddles and puzzles, and will feel good when they solve mysteries along with the three friends (and sometimes before they solve them) and parents and teachers will like the problem-solving skills that are reinforced through this approach.

This books is written for the YA audience -- I would say kids, and especially girls, between 4th and 9th grade would enjoy it the most. The mysteries keep the reader reading, and kids will like the fact that the heroines are real.  The three girls are not trouble-making teens, nor are they "mean girls" who gossip, backstab, and generally look down on anyone who isn't like them -- two all-too-common teenage stereotypes in the media, stereotypes that most teens cannot identify with.  They are respectful to their parents, they work hard in school, and they have good, clean fun.  They talk like real kids and about subjects that real kids talk about.

What's cool about the fact that they are real is that readers can say, "If these girls can use their brains like this, then so can I."  The book empowers young readers, and especially female readers, and shows them the value of brain power!